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Sometimes life can be too serious. And sometimes publishing can be too serious. Grammar, however, is a serious subject ;D Anyway, I have decided to add some light-hearten humour to this site. Please keep them coming, and with a bit of luck, they will become a frequent occurrence. So all you grammar Nazis out there with a sense of humour, please send links. And all the rest of you, who have a solid sense of humour, please keep them coming. Afterall, a joke a day, keeps us all smiling :-D Here is the first one, thanks to the Oatmeal.

I finally had some time to catch up with my reading and came across this rather interesting column from the New York Times. It is about kids and the changing world they live and learn in. Innovation is important, as is creativity. The long and the short of it is that we all has to adapt to the changing times, as must publishing. It is time for people to write the kind of books they want to read, and to be heard. It is time to understand that media no longer has the same power as it had before. There is still power, but not in the same way. Trends are no longer created by publishing houses, but by the...

In most countries, a publisher has to send companies of newly printed books to repositories, or often called deposit libraries or national libraries. There have been many famous libraries through the ages, though the old libraries seemed to be more like our present day deposit, as the books were chained to their stands, and could not be borrowed. In year 2000 UNESCO made recommendation for the construction of legal deposit legislation, though the books have been deposited in many national libraries as far back as the 1500s. In the UK the most exciting ones to visit are (in my opinion) the British Library and the Bodlean. Each country has its own regulations, and the number of books deposited is usually...

Today the merger between Random House and Penguin was approved by the EU, according to The Bookseller. The reason for their merger is that "Pearson and Bertelsmann believe that the combined organisation, the world’s leading consumer publishing company, will have a stronger platform and greater resources to invest in rich content, new digital publishing models and high-growth emerging markets." I personally think that they are also doing it to avoid competition from each other. Bombadil Publishing has lost several authors to Penguin Indian, which went on to become best sellers. I do wish the authors well, but I was saddened that they went without wishing us well. A couple actually came back later on and said they had not been...

Sometimes sadness and laughter can mix. I was very sad to hear that Ian Banks has terminal cancer. He announced it on his website though many major UK papers also carried the news. The BBC carried the news as did the Daily Mail. This of course made me sad, as Ian Banks is an extremely talented author, and seems to be a wonderful person as well. What did make me laugh, however, was his wonderful way of proposing to his wife. He apparently wrote: As a result, I've withdrawn from all planned public engagements and I've asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry - but we find ghoulish humour helps). So sad,...

I took the liberty of copying Philip Jones' blog in the Bookseller directly onto the website. I think it is not only well written but also important. First of all it brings up the information that Amazon has bought Goodreads, which essentially means that it will not longer be an objective and independent social network for bookworms. Or will it? I don't think so, but again, I may be wrong. I believe it depends on the members and how they want to play it. I hope it means more openness to all. Good reads for all (by Philip Jones, deputy editor of the Bookseller) The acquisition of Goodreads by Amazon serves as a reminder of how bifurcated the book business now...

I remember when they released Horrible Histories about 20 years ago. My oldest kids were still in primary school, and dreaded the old history books. They essentially found them stuffy and heavy going. Along came the Horrible Histories and changed their perspective. I assume they changed the perspective of so many children and made history a more exciting and accessible subject for many. The author Terry Dreary has finished his 60th book, and will not write any more books, according to an article in the Daily Mail. I know there have been so many spin-offs and we at Bombadil wish Terry Deary all the best and thank him for the revolution he has started.

It is very difficult to get information about publishing straight off, because so much of it is kept secret or the various big publishers use in-house statisticians who inevitably compare different sources. Comparing apples and pears often gives a mix of incomparable information, but don't give up. It is possible, but first you need to know the different main sources. For the UK and for the English speaking world of publishing, The Bookseller is one of the best sources. It sends daily digests about what is happening and have a hot line with Nielsen Book Scan, which is a pay-for information-book-sales-tracking-company. Nielsen often does not monitor what goes on in small companies, and only scan the retail market. Subscribing to information...